MATH 240 – Worksheet 05

NOTE: The problems are taken from our textbook: Probability and Statistics for
Engineers and Scientists, 9th Edition. Its authors are: Walpole, Myers, Myers, and Ye

Sections 3.4: Joint Probability Distributions

Sections 4.1: Mean of a Random Variable

Sections 4.2: Variance and Covariance of Random Variables

1. (p.105/#3.39, 3.48, 4.44, 4.51) From a sack of fruit containing 3 oranges, 2 apples,
and 3 bananas, a random sample of 4 pieces of fruit is selected. If X is the number
of oranges and Y is the number of apples in the sample, find
a) the joint probability distribution of X and Y ;
b) P[(X, Y ) ∈ A], where A is the region that is given by {(x, y)| x + y ≤ 2}.
c) f (y|2), which is P(Y = y|X = 2), for all values of y.
d) the covariance of the Random Variables X and Y .
e) the Correlation Coefficient between X and Y .

2. (p.105/#3.43, 3.58) Let X denote the reaction time, in seconds, to a certain stim-
ulus and Y denote the temperature (◦ F) at which a certain reaction starts to take
place. Suppose that two random variables X and Y have the joint density
{
4xy, 0 < x < 1, 0 < y < 1,
f (x, y) =
0, elsewhere.

a) Find P (0 ≤ X ≤ 1
2 and 1
4 ≤ Y ≤ 12 ).
b) Find P (X < Y ).
c) Determine whether the two Random Variables are dependent or independent.

3. (p.105/#3.45) Let X denote the diameter of an armored electric cable and Y

denote the diameter of the ceramic mold that makes the cable. Both X and Y are
scaled so that they range between 0 and 1. Suppose that X and Y have the joint
density {
1
, 0 < x < y < 1,
f (x, y) = y
0, elsewhere.
Find P(X + Y > 12 ).

1
4. (p.106/#3.49, 3.54, 4.45) Let X denote the number of times a certain numerical
control machine will malfunction: 1, 2, or 3 times on any given day. Let Y denote
the number of times a technician is called on an emergency call: 1, 3, or 5 times.
Their joint probability distribution is given as
x
f (x, y) 1 2 3
1 0.05 0.05 0.10
y 3 0.05 0.10 0.35
5 0.00 0.20 0.10
a) Evaluate the marginal distribution of X.
b) Evaluate the marginal distribution of Y .
c) Find P(Y = 3|X = 2).
d) Determine whether the two random variables are dependent or independent.
e) Find the Covariance of the Random Variables X and Y .
5. (p.106/#3.56) The joint density function of the random variables X and Y is
{
6x, 0 < x < 1, 0 < y < 1 − x,
f (x, y) =
0, elsewhere.
Verify that X and Y are not independent by showing that f (x, y) ̸= g(x)h(y).
6. (p.106/#3.57) Let X, Y , and Z have the joint probability density function
{
kxy 2 z, 0 < x < 1, 0 < y < 1, 0 < z < 2,
f (x, y, z) =
0, elsewhere.
a) Find k.
b) Find P(X < 41 , Y > 12 , 1 < Z < 2).
7. (p.117/#4.9) A private pilot wishes to insure his airplane for $200,000. The insur-
ance company estimates that a total loss will occur with probability 0.002, a 50%
loss with probability 0.01, and a 25% loss with probability 0.1. Ignoring all other
partial losses, what premium should the insurance company charge each year to
realize an average profit of $500?
8. (p.117/#4.10) Two tire-quality experts examine stacks of tires and assign a quality
rating to each tire on a 3-point scale. Let X denote the rating given by expert A
and Y denote the rating given by B. The following table gives the joint distribution
for X and Y . Find µx and µy .
y
f (x, y) 1 2 3
1 0.10 0.05 0.02
x 2 0.10 0.35 0.05
3 0.03 0.10 0.20

2
 9. (p.117/#4.11) The density function of coded measurements of the pitch diameter
of threads of a fitting is
{
4
2 , 0 < x < 1,
f (x) = π(1+x )
0, elsewhere.

Find the Expected Value of X.

10. (p.118/#4.15) Assume that two random variables (X, Y ) are uniformly distributed
on a circle with radius a. Then the joint probability density function is
{
1
2, x2 + y 2 ≤ a2 ,
f (x, y) = πa
0, elsewhere.

Find µx , the Expected Value of X.

11. (p.118/#4.17, 4.41) Let X be a Random Variable with the following probability
distribution:
x −3 6 9
f (x) 1/6 1/2 1/3
a) Find µg(X) , where g(X) = (2X + 1)2 .
b) Find the Standard Deviation of g(X).

12. (p.118/#4.20) A continuous Random Variable X has the density function

{
e−x , 0 < x,
f (x) =
0, elsewhere.

Find the Expected Value of g(X) = e2X/3 .

13. (p.127/#4.35) The Random Variable X, representing the number of errors per
100 lines of software code, has the following Probability Distribution. Find the
Variance, σ 2 , of X.

x 2 3 4 5 6
f (x) 0.01 0.25 0.4 0.3 0.04

14. (p.127/#4.50) For a laboratory assignment, if the equipment is working, the den-
sity function of the observed outcome X is
{
2(1 − x), 0 < x < 1,
f (x) =
0, otherwise.

Find the Variance and Standard Deviation of X.